The career of fast bowler Alan Ward promised much but ended in disappointment and injury. He was genuinely fast, but his awkward action and fragile body too often let him down, and he wasn't helped by having to ply the bulk of his trade on Derbyshire's featherbeds. When England went to Australia in 1970-71, captain Ray Illingworth trumpeted his opening attack of Ward and John Snow. But while Snow thrived in the limelight, taking 31 wickets to win the series, Ward shrank from it - even before his tour was wrecked by injury. He hit the headlines for the wrong reasons in 1973 when he was sent from the field by his captain for refusing to bowl in a Sunday League game, and in 1976 he was left Derbyshire under a cloud. That summer also saw his fifth and final Test, recalled to add some fire to the England side against the rampaging West Indies, he took four wickets and won a standing ovation for a last-day duck which held West Indies at bay for almost an hour. He joined Leicestershire in 1976 but had two largely unproductive seasons with them.
Martin Williamson

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